book data
6,673 ratings,
3.86
average rating, 864 reviews
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published
July 17th 2002
(first published 1999)
by Gardners Books
binding
Paperback, 348 pages
isbn
1903434777
(isbn13: 9781903434772)
description
Prosper and Bo are orphans on the run from their cruel aunt and uncle. The brothers decide to hide out in Venice, where they meet a mysterious charact...more
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avg 3.86
editions: all | this edition
editions: all | this edition
Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
Venice lovers
It's a great fantasy: Let's run away to Venice, and hide out in an old movie theater. We can dye our hair blonde, so no one will ever find us!
In a way, this is a European version of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, with siblings running away to a place stuffed with antiquities, and getting mixed up in an art mystery. I guess Victor the detective must have the Mrs. Frankweiler role.
I didn't expect the touch of fantasy at the end. I'd love to read a sequel to f...more
In a way, this is a European version of From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, with siblings running away to a place stuffed with antiquities, and getting mixed up in an art mystery. I guess Victor the detective must have the Mrs. Frankweiler role.
I didn't expect the touch of fantasy at the end. I'd love to read a sequel to f...more
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Read in June, 2009
Orang dewasa tidak ingat lagi, bagaimana rasanya,
menjadi anak-anak.
Walaupun mereka mengaku begitu.
Mereka tidak tahu lagi. Percayalah padaku.
Mereka sudah lupa semuanya.
Betapa dunia dahulu berkesan lebih besar bagi mereka.
Betapa repotnya memanjat ke atas kursi.
Bagaimana rasanya kalau harus selalu menengadah?
Lupa.
Mereka tidak tahu lagi.
Kau pun akan melupakannya.
Kadang-kadang orang dewasa bercerita, betapa indahnya
ketika mereka ...more
menjadi anak-anak.
Walaupun mereka mengaku begitu.
Mereka tidak tahu lagi. Percayalah padaku.
Mereka sudah lupa semuanya.
Betapa dunia dahulu berkesan lebih besar bagi mereka.
Betapa repotnya memanjat ke atas kursi.
Bagaimana rasanya kalau harus selalu menengadah?
Lupa.
Mereka tidak tahu lagi.
Kau pun akan melupakannya.
Kadang-kadang orang dewasa bercerita, betapa indahnya
ketika mereka ...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
people who enjoy mysteries
The Thief lord by Cornelia Funke was a pretty good book. This book tells a story of two young boys(Bo and Prosper) who run away and decide to hide from there care givers with a group of misfit runaways in an abandon theatre. In the under belly of Venice, Italy. They get into some sticky situations and have to steal to get money and survive. Including having a wealthy client send the gang on a very special mission. There are many characters include Prosper, Bo, Hornet and the Thief Lord himsel...more
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08/19/07
Peter
added it
Read in August, 2007
Book of the Year Awards... Really? Is it unsympathetic of me to think that this book is... childish? How reductive should authors of children's lit be?
I've been working with a young student this summer, and The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke, is a big favorite on the sixth grade circuit. This particular boy had chosen it for summer reading, and so I picked up a copy for myself.
Enh.
Billed as a "fantastical journey" through "the magical underwor...more
I've been working with a young student this summer, and The Thief Lord, by Cornelia Funke, is a big favorite on the sixth grade circuit. This particular boy had chosen it for summer reading, and so I picked up a copy for myself.
Enh.
Billed as a "fantastical journey" through "the magical underwor...more
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2 comments
Read in November, 2008
SPOILER ALERT
I hate hate hate it when a book introduces magic 3/4ths of the way through! I like fantasy, thats not the problem. But the ordinary people are supposed to discover the magic at the beginning of the book. You know, the children run through a mysterious old house in the country, hide in a wardrobe, and bam! they're in Narnia. Perfect. Don't try and tell me a realistic story and then suddenly change/solve everything with magic that the characters just accept and move on. I ...more
I hate hate hate it when a book introduces magic 3/4ths of the way through! I like fantasy, thats not the problem. But the ordinary people are supposed to discover the magic at the beginning of the book. You know, the children run through a mysterious old house in the country, hide in a wardrobe, and bam! they're in Narnia. Perfect. Don't try and tell me a realistic story and then suddenly change/solve everything with magic that the characters just accept and move on. I ...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommended to Jana by:
book shop guyrecommends it for: any young readers
This book is an amazing story by Cornelia Funke. The book consist of three stories that wind together. Prosper and Bo have run away from their homes in Germany to Venice. In order to see what their diseased mom had told them about the city and to escape from their aunt Esther, who is interested in adopting Bo.
In Venice they meet a group of children that live in an empty cinema. And that are cared for by the lord of the thieves. But who is he?? Meanwhile, Aunt Esther and her horrible husban...more
In Venice they meet a group of children that live in an empty cinema. And that are cared for by the lord of the thieves. But who is he?? Meanwhile, Aunt Esther and her horrible husban...more
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This is an extremely good book. I recommend any one who likes Action or Suspense books to read this book. Here is a summary: Prosper and Bo escape from there aunt and uncle Esther's house, and go to Venice. There mother and father died, and when they did, the only relatives available for a child were their aunt and uncle. But they only want the younger brother, Bo, age 6. Prosper has acted like a father to Bo ever since their parents died. Venice is a big place with a bunch of abandoned houses. ...more
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4 comments
Read in September, 2008
I loved this book a lot. I was disapointed when I finished the book. I wanted to know what happened to "The Thief Lord".
After he went on the mmarry-go-round, I alwways wonder what could have happened to him. I love Bo and Prop. They are intresting characters. The love between them is very strong. Barbarossa is one of my least favorite character, besides Esther. He didn't learn anything when he turned into a shrink. This was my first book from this auther. I think I'll read more ...more
After he went on the mmarry-go-round, I alwways wonder what could have happened to him. I love Bo and Prop. They are intresting characters. The love between them is very strong. Barbarossa is one of my least favorite character, besides Esther. He didn't learn anything when he turned into a shrink. This was my first book from this auther. I think I'll read more ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommended to Laney by:
taylor, i thought, but it was really myself (joke)recommends it for: children in grades 3-6
Terrific story about a couple of orphan boys (how come all the good kids' books have orphans in them?) who run away from their aunt and end up in Venice on the streets. They end up living in an old dilapidated theater with other orphans, the leader of whom is known as The Thief Lord. While the two boys try to evade a pesky detective, the Thief Lord tries to make a name for himself. The boys run through the streets of Venice and find mysteries along the way. This is a good book for boys who like ...more
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Read in February, 2006
I read The Thief Lord two years back when I was in Venice for skiing holiday. The book is excellent, and combined with the right surroundings I was smitten.
Venice in the winter is misty and dreamy, and when we walked around the city, I could almost see the Thief Lord running around with his friends, cunningly planning their theft, getting more and more mixed up in the plots of grown-ups around them. Funke's storytelling is wonderful, her characters believable, and, for a children's ...more
Venice in the winter is misty and dreamy, and when we walked around the city, I could almost see the Thief Lord running around with his friends, cunningly planning their theft, getting more and more mixed up in the plots of grown-ups around them. Funke's storytelling is wonderful, her characters believable, and, for a children's ...more
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Read in January, 2005
I was told to start with this book, but began with Inkheart instead. Inkheart is entirely of a different variety, totally magical, but this one is destined to be the classic. Set in the streets of Venice, this book has it all: Italian culture, street savvy kids, the Robin Hood-like notion of stealing from the rich to give to the poor, all the while echoing a sort of Les Miserables-like Griviche type thing.
Everybody loves a gang of orphans! These orphans live in a run down movie theater ...more
Everybody loves a gang of orphans! These orphans live in a run down movie theater ...more
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Read in January, 2009
recommended to **Gracie** by:
My Sisterrecommends it for: "Inkheart" Fans
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
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Read in February, 2009
When I read the translations of Cornelia Funke's books (so the Inkworld books and this...) I feel like there's something missing. It might have got lost in translation or it might not have been there in the first place, but whichever it is, something doesn't feel quite right about this. There are some lovely descriptions and ideas in Cornelia Funke's work, it just somehow doesn't appeal to me. And I know her work is targeted at younger people, but I read plenty of YA lit and it doesn't have this...more
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Read in August, 2006
The Thief Lord has many dark elements: the plight of street children, the tragedy of having loveless parents, the tragedy of having no parents at all, and the dangers of living in a criminal underworld. Funke touches upon the dark histories of Scipio and Hornet, but never does more than imply. In many cases this works very well. The way that Funke hints at Hornet’s backstory through quick references, and subtle nuances in the girl’s character develops a story in the reader’s mind that is h...more
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Read in January, 2009
“The Thief Lord” is an interesting book because of the two main characters, Prosper and Bo who are brothers. Prosper is the older one and Bo is the younger brother. The brother’s parents have died and now they are currently living with their Aunt Esther who is going to send them to a boarding school. Prosper and Bo decided to leave for Venice and they meet a mysterious character that names himself “The Thief Lord”. The two brothers engage in crime to feed themselves with “The Thief L...more
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Read in January, 2009
Cornelia Funke does a wonderful job of telling the amazing story of Proper and Bo, orphans who have escaped to Venice, Italy based on their late mother's fantastical descriptions of the city. Luckily, before Bo and Prosper freeze or starve to death, an already formed band of street children take them in and allow them to live with them in an abandoned movie theatre. Prosper and Bo soon learn that these children are cared for by a child close to their own age who calls himself "The Thief Lor...more
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Cornelia Funke's The Thief Lord examines the lives of two runaway orphans growing up in Venice. I initially liked the idea of this novel because I am very interested in life outside of America. Obviously the protagonist's lifestyles are much different than mine are despite the cultural difference of the environments, but the country discriptions really intrigued me.
I really enjoyed the connected between the two brothers because their love drove them to the hardships that came with running...more
I really enjoyed the connected between the two brothers because their love drove them to the hardships that came with running...more
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Cornelia Funke, adalah penulis novel anak-anak pra remaja kelahiran Jerman. Funke adalah penulis yang produktif, lebih 40 buah novel telah dihasilkannya. Publik buku dunia mulai mengenal namanya ketika salah satu karyanya Pangeran Pencuri ( Herr der Diebe, 2000) diterjemahkan kedalam bahasa Inggris pada tahun 2002 (The Thief Lord, Scholatic, 2002). Setelah itu itu secara berturut-turut 5 buah novel-novel karyanya diterjemahkan kedalam bahasa Inggris yaitu : Inkheart (2003), The Prince Knight (20...more
This suspenseful tale begins in a detective's office in Venice, as the entirely unpleasant Hartliebs request Victor Getz's services to search for two boys, Prosper and Bo, the sons of Esther Hartlieb's recently deceased sister. Twelve-year-old Prosper and 5-year-old Bo ran away when their aunt decided she wanted to adopt Bo, but not his brother. Refusing to split up, they escaped to Venice, a city their mother had always described reverently, in great detail. Right away they hook up with a long...more
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Read in June, 2009
This book had some highs and lows; overall, it was just ok and rather underwhelming. The beginning is pretty standard, boring fare, then a twist makes things interesting for a while, low again, then magical, then better, then ok. Overall, it wasn't too impressive, but I think if I were younger (this book is for on average, 6th graders), I think I would have enjoyed it better. That's probably the first time I've said that about a book! I was too old for it! But if I were younger, I think it ...more
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